I've started this blog post a few times, and I just can't.quite.find.the.right.words. Should I start with the obvious- we have $36,275 in our Haven Homes Account- which in Detroit terms means we have enough to actually buy a house for Haven?! Should I try to put into words how we're feeling: amazed, awed, humbled, scared, and more than anything- over-the-moon excited! For those of you who know me, you know I'm rarely speechless, and yet, here I am. Pretty close to speechless. Because, you see, I've had this dream for almost 7 years. A dream that Aaron has shared for almost two years. Something that we've held between us for so long that it almost seems like it would never be shared with the world. We got a board, we are a registered non-profit in the state of Michigan, we partnered with Element H and launched our dream to the world (or at least our world!). But there wasn't ever anything more at stake than our egos. But moving forward with house hunting for Haven Homes, that feels like a different league!
There's a saying that most everything that matters takes hard work- and Aaron and I have raised our hands for that. We're in, and we're both willing to do the hard work. Hard work doesn't really scare either of us very much. I'm sure there's also a saying about taking risks on your passions (if not, there should be). And again, neither Aaron or I are very risk-adverse. We're usually up for trying something, knowing that if we fail, we'll get up again, together. This is different. This is weighty. This involves real people with really deep hurts and wounds. Haven Homes is weighty and heavy, and there's a lot at stake. There's a lot at stake for Aaron and me and our board to get right. But the thing is, there's even more at stake if we let the heaviness get the best of us. Aaron and Lori see these women up close and personal when they do outreach. I've thought about women waiting for us to open a place like Haven Homes of Detroit for the hundreds of miles I've run with Love Runs. For real, as I'm writing this, Aaron just got another call from somebody looking for shelter checking if Haven Homes has any room.
I found this YouTube by Morgan Harper Nichols before, and I was just watching it again. It's about courage and finding courage and the fact that courage is contagious. And all of that feels so fitting right now. We are SO excited to start house hunting, but we are praying for courage. And we are praying for courage for those that move into Haven Homes hopefully sooner rather than later. May our journey inspire courage as we know other's courage has inspired us to get to this place of a real life house for Haven Homes.
So here's to contagious courage as we step into this exciting step for Haven Homes!! We can't wait to share our house hunting adventures with you all!
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